M-Systems announces 90GB flash disk...

[bbot]

but the price is $27,725

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=14635

Company's announcement:

http://www.m-sys.com/Content/Corporate/Press/prInfo.asp?id=624

 

[Guden Oden]

So where's the console link?

 

[Evil_Cloud]

We'll get a Fast Flash Card for Xbox 2 with a capacity of 90GB in 10 years!

 

[cthellis42]

Yes, let's hope it gets down to at least $25,000 by launch or NO ONE will want one!

 

[randycat99]

Hey, don't forget- MS has "bottomless reserves". Let'em take the losses to seed an XB2 into the hands of each and every gamer in the land... Yes, yes?

 

[gurgi]

Fuzzy math time!!

Pricewatch has $250GB drives for $200 and 20GB drives for $25. 20GB is 8% of the larger drive and is 12.5% of the cost.

So..

90GB for 28000. 8% of 90 is 7.2, for 12% of the cost: $336 bucks.

Since we only need a partition for game cache.

another 8% of 7.2 is 576MB(ish) and will cost 42 bucks

Which means:

I need to get back to work.

 

[cthellis42]

Which means you make our head hurt, gurgi. Offhand I don't expect more than a 2GB (4GB maximum, maybe, but at likely an unreasonable premium) offering at launch, which would be plenty for some services but pretty palsy for others--unless M-Systems has some surprises up its sleeve. And right now even with the cheapest of flash media, 1GB runs in the $200+ range--and they're not precisely dropping like rocks--so offering something 1-2GB at mass volume would likely be an expensive proposition even in 2005. (Certainly expensive in relation to most console peripherals.)

Offhand, we'll probably see 128MB's and 256MB's serving the area that we see PS2 and GC memory cards in now--which hopefully can stretch longer in relation to next gen's file size requirements as well--and maybe a 1GB closer to $100 or 2GB at its own premium... But until we hear differently, I have a hard time thinking M-Systems will drive faster and harder and at better costs than the larger companies whose mainstay has been in flash media.

Still a big shrug, but that'd be my guess offhand. The main advantage is in the ability to scale over the lifespan of the console (and, of course, in externalizing the cost).

 

[Jabjabs]

Hey, don't forget- MS has "bottomless reserves". Let'em take the losses to seed an XB2 into the hands of each and every gamer in the land...

Hmmm, 20 million units at $27,000 each, that equals 540 billion dollars... that's reasonable...

 

[randycat99]

I should have said a "$300 XB2" to be clear. With your way, however, I'd say MS should be able to come up with a pretty good game machine PC (that has plenty of HD) for $27,000. Fuhgedabout the dumb memory card! They could just put 10 pack-in games for that kind of pricetag!

 

[Deadmeat]

...

The current market price for NAND flash is $45 per 256 MB. I don't expect MS to include a flash drive onboard, but offer them as memory cards instead.

 

[Ug Lee]

Agreed. Cost cutting wherever possible is the name of the game for Xbox 2. I can't see MS being as 'charitable' as they are with Xbox 1, including storage that they could quite easily sell.

M-Systems FFD = basis for Xbox 2 memory cards.

 

[nobie]

I think a 90GB flash card is really out of the question, after all X-Box only had an 8GB disk. There will probably be different sives available, maybe a 10MB card just for save games, and a ~1GB card for use with X-Box Live. Prices could range from $10-$100 (guessing).

 

[Mendel]

Hey, don't forget- MS has "bottomless reserves". Let'em take the losses to seed an XB2 into the hands of each and every gamer in the land...

Hmmm, 20 million units at $27,000 each, that equals 540 billion dollars... that's reasonable...

And if they would sell that with a prize tag of $200 people would buy tons of xboxes, rip off the flash and sell it. 1:100 win marginal!